


Winds of Winter

by SamReiGel



Series: Winds of Winter [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - A Song of Ice and Fire, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-07
Updated: 2017-12-28
Packaged: 2018-10-15 23:38:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 20,856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10559642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SamReiGel/pseuds/SamReiGel
Summary: Hogwarts woke up one morning to find Harry Potter missing. His bed was found empty save for his clothes, his wand, and his glasses. It was as if he disappeared from the face of the earth.Brief crossover to George R.R Martin's Song of Ice and Fire.





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Draco Malfoy was every bit a rich, spoiled, and arrogant git. He carried himself as well as any member of the elite class of the wizarding world, especially as the heir of the Malfoy name. He grew up under Lucius’ Malfoy’s ideals of The Dark Lord, condemning Muggles, their off-springs, and half-giants, basically anything that was particularly not in favour of purebloods. And like every other child of wizarding families, he had heard of Harry Potter.

Harry Potter had defeated The Dark Lord, which despite his father’s reluctance to accept, had saved the wizarding world from total destruction. Lucius had said perhaps the boy was a stronger wizard than Voldemort and they had to therefore pledge allegiance to him, and Draco did just that as soon as he heard Harry Potter was coming to Hogwarts. He offered The Boy Who Lived his hand on the train to Hogwarts, but the boy refused.

This crushed him thoroughly.

After that, Lucius had said that Harry Potter was nothing but a fraud and a trickster, that they have to bring back Voldemort at all costs. Draco, however was unmoved. If anything, he felt even more intrigued by Potter. And angry. He felt angry that Potter would choose the blood-traitor Weasley and mudblood Granger as his friends, but not him, who was clearly superior in every way.

Draco Malfoy always got what he wanted. He could just say the word and it would be presented to him on a silver platter. If he wanted someone to pay attention to him he just had to throw a tantrum. Potter downright ignored him. Because of this, he felt compelled to be noticed by Potter, desperately. He would do anything.

The following years Draco had constantly tried to probe at Potter’s attention. He went out of his way to get Potter riled up for him. He wanted to be acknowledged by Potter. He wanted to be part of Potter’s life. He wanted Potter.

Draco never actually thought why until fourth year, when he and Pansy Parkinson were sitting in an alcove in one of the corridors after the Yule Ball, leaning in close to each other for a kiss and all he could think of was what it would be like if Pansy was Potter. He was so mortified he ran back to his rooms in 2 seconds, leaving a heartbroken Pansy behind.

It took Draco a whole month to realise his feelings for Potter were romantic. When Potter came back from the maze with a dead Cedric as Triwizard Champion, he felt immense relief. Despite himself, he was glad that Cedric was dead instead of Potter. He couldn’t imagine a world without Potter.

When his father told him The Dark Lord had returned, Draco didn’t know what to do. He did not want to join Voldemort, but he couldn’t abandon his family. Torn in confusion, it wasn’t until one of his ritual morning routines in the Great Hall that he came to a conclusion. Draco watched as Potter trudged in the hall for breakfast one morning with Granger and Weasel, his scar glowing scarlet as if they had been burned in yesterday. It didn’t take a fool to figure out that fifteen-year-old old scars aren’t meant to bleed still. Whatever it was that was happening to Potter, he had no choice in the matter.

Harry Potter never wanted to be The Boy Who Lived.

That was when he became Harry for Draco, and his feelings were no longer of narrow fancy. He was in love with Harry.

Draco was in denial of course, for a good six months until one morning, Umbridge was declared unfit for service and Dumbledore had been reinstated. He had spent the whole six months trying to get Harry and his secret little club gatherings just to avoid thinking about his feelings for the boy. Harry had sat in his usual seat in the Great Hall, with Draco eyeing him as usual. He appeared worse than ever. He looked, as if it was possible, like he had just lost his parents. The letter he received from his father that morning clarified to him that Sirius Black was dead. Harry’s godfather. His Aunt Bella had killed him, and Harry was there to see it all. Draco felt profound guilt, somehow he felt partly responsible. Lucius had described the event in great detail from which spell was used on Sirius to the way Harry screamed himself hoarse until Draco could feel bile rising up his throat.

That was when he decided to carve a path of his own, one that protects Harry. He would protect Harry in his own way.

The next week as he was deep in thought upon how to bring his vision to manifestation during breakfast, he realised Granger and Weasel hurrying down to Gryffindor table, the Golden Boy amiss. Something was wrong. Maybe Harry would be coming late, or not having breakfast today. But something in their faces told Draco that it was nothing of the sort. They kept glancing around, from the high chair of the headmaster to the great doors as if expecting Harry to show up. Weasel wasn’t answering any of their friend’s questions, but his roommates Seamus and Neville complied in his stead, whispering in answer to other Gryffindors. Girls were quick on the uptake and eventually word reached Slytherin, and Pansy said

“Apparently Potter wasn’t in his bed this morning”

“And this is a shock, why?” Draco’s heart beat a little too fast despite the mundane information.

“He was seen in his bed all night. But this morning he’s just gone. His glasses were there, and his wand. Draco, even the clothes he was wearing were still there” Draco paled.

“It was as if he disappeared, literally” finished Pansy.

There have been times when Harry might have slipped his wand. But he would never ever go anywhere without his glasses. Suddenly the hall felt so much colder and Draco found that he was trembling. He had to pinch his arm until he was certain it would turn blue to calm down. Was it possible that someone had taken him? Was it Voldemort...?

* * *

 

The next day at breakfast, Granger and Weasel walked to Gryffindor table looking exactly as they did the day before, if not worse. Apparently they have not received any word regarding the whereabouts of Harry. Not from Harry or anyone, as Granger frantically scanned the Daily Prophet for anything on the disappearance of Harry Potter. Draco knew they never rely on the prophet’s daily information, and for them to look at it for help was showing just how bad it was. They also kept checking at the staff table to see if Dumbledore had come back or not. Draco noticed even McGonagall seemed taut with tension.

A letter landed in front of his breakfast, he recognised it was from his mother. As he opened it, he realized Granger was watching him. She probably thought if the Dark side had Harry, Draco would know. She was right. But the letter contained nothing about Harry. Narcissa wrote the usual greetings and asking about Draco’s well-being, all-in-all absolutely nothing regarding The Boy Who Lived. He lost all his appetite and stared at his toast for the rest of breakfast, and when it was time for class he carefully avoided looking at Granger or Weasel.

* * *

 

The following morning, Dumbledore arrived. Granger immediately shot up and practically ran towards the headmaster, the Weasel not far behind. All faces seemed to focus on their interchange, and the Great Hall went silent to listen to what they were saying. Draco held his breath. Dumbledore looked very grave, and the pair headed back to their table dejectedly. It was obvious from their looks that even Dumbledore didn’t know anything. The letter Draco received from his mother in reply to his inconspicuous question yesterday showed that Harry wasn’t with them either.

“Hasn’t your father said anything about Potter, Draco?” Blaise had asked him.

All Slytherins seemed to listen in.

“Apparently they don’t even know he’s missing” he said loud enough for his table to hear for he knew the news would spread to the other side of the hall in no time.

“I wonder where he’s gone off to” Pansy said in response.

“Hope he’s finally dead” Goyle said.

Draco was downcast, knowing that Granger was keeping an eye on him.

* * *

 

Harry woke up to a stinging cold. He was deafened by the loud howling of the wind, cold winter winds that were inherently slicing his skin to ribbons like hundreds of knives. He was naked in the storm. He didn’t have his glasses, everything was blurry and it was hard to keep his eyes open with the wind practically attacking his face. His brain didn’t even cue him to think, it essentially screamed for Harry to just run and find shelter.

So he ran wherever his guts took him, dragging his freezing legs one after the other despite his body crackling in protest, and it felt like a thousand miles before he finally rammed into a tree. With the cold piercing daggers deep into his skins he crawled, nudging his way on the ground, looking for any kind of surface that he could use as a shield against the wind, and he groped everywhere he could, and before long he couldn’t feel his hands and feet anymore. Unable to move any longer, Harry Potter shivered violently in the snowstorm, hugging himself as close as he could to the tree, all rational thoughts gone from his mind as he focused on his breathing to stay alive. Even breathing was impossible, and he knew he was going to die. Unconsciously he muttered a warming spell over and over, and it seemed to have some effect at some point that he could move his head by a fraction to look up to find a great big wolf, looking at him a few feet away.

The wolf was even bigger than Lupin. It had sandy-coloured fur and jaws that looked like they could snap his spine to splinters with one bite. It wasn’t a werewolf, but it definitely wasn’t a normal wolf. It regarded Harry with unmistakably predatory eyes. This was it. He was going to die. If the wolf wasn’t going to eat him, which was very unlikely, he would freeze to death in the next minute. When the wolf approached him, Harry wanted to scream and yell and fight for his life, but he couldn’t move an inch. He couldn’t even think. This cold was unnatural and it kept his arms around himself. Despite great effort to fight the urge, Harry closed his eyes.

The next time he opened them, he realized he was lying down on cold dirt. He looked around and came to realize he was in a cave of some sort. It was considerably preferable to the snowstorm earlier, a distant howling of the wind from outside, and he couldn’t tell whether if it was a dream because he couldn’t feel his limbs at all.

“Where am I...?” he asked aloud.

When there was no answer, Harry tried to sit up. His muscles were frozen meat, and he knew he should be hurting as he did it, but he only felt cold and numb. He realized someone had put a mantle on him. He slowly looked around again. The cave was completely devoid of life. There were carcasses and bones half buried in the grounds, Harry figured they were the work of the wolves, but other than that there was only one giant tree across from him. The roots branched out everywhere, and Harry noticed someone was sitting in the tree. His vision was still blurry, but he could make out that the figure belonged to a man.

“You were found unconscious in the middle of the snowstorm. If I hadn’t come find you, you would be among the dead by now” the voice sounded old and raspy.

“Where am I?” Harry asked.

“We are far beyond The Wall and there is no known civilization miles from here. It’s as if you appeared from thin air, boy” the old man ignored him.

“The Wall...? Who are you?” Harry asked again.

The old man didn’t answer him. Harry kept his gaze on him, squinting his eyes as he couldn’t see very well.

“I am the Three-Eyed Crow” the old man spoke.

 


	2. The Man In The Tree

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draco is livid and Harry woke up somewhere else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s been a week. There were no signs of Harry. Granger read the news slowly, dark circles on her eyes as if she hadn’t slept a wink since the day Harry disappeared. Weasel just looked down on his breakfast, looking like a corpse. He wasn’t even eating anymore. Apparently even the Weasel’s father tried to check with the ministry on the Trace on Harry. The Trace came up with nothing, as if Harry wasn’t on the face of the earth. Whoever took him, they managed to sever the connection. That would take really powerful magic.

The whole Gryffindor table seemed to share the mood. Their hero had disappeared without a trace, and this also seemed to scare Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. It looked as if without Harry, there was no one to act as a shield for them against Voldemort. Dumbledore was rarely there in Hogwarts. Although Slytherins acted like they ruled the school now that the Golden Boy wasn’t there to fend them off, it was clear that some Slytherins weren’t happy that Harry was gone. It was only a matter of time before Voldemort found out Harry was missing, and started attacking Hogwarts. Maybe that was why Dumbledore stayed away, because Voldemort wanted him dead and him being there would only impose danger to the students. Harry wasn’t there to lead the Light. And Draco, especially Draco, didn’t know what to do.

* * *

 

“The Three-Eyed Crow…?” Harry sputtered.

“I am the warden of the world. I watch mankind from these roots with my third eye. I have been watching for a long time. I have seen every single thing since the first history of mankind was ever written. I know every single soul that has lived in this world”

“You’re some kind of seer, then?” Harry asked.

“If you find that the best way to describe me, then let it be so. The question is... who are you?” the old man asked.

“I...” Harry hesitated.

“I know every soul in this world. But I do not know you. Why is it that I don’t know you?” he asked again.

“My name is Harry Potter... I’m a wizard”

“A warlock?”

“A what...?” Harry furrowed his brows.

“A wizard. Tell me... why are you here?”

“I don’t know. I was just sleeping in my bed and when I woke up I was in the middle of a sodding snowstorm nowhere near Hogwarts”

“Interesting...”

“Can you tell me how I got here?” Harry asked hopefully.

“I can only tell you that at first light, the children of the forest came to me, telling me that they felt great power surging in the air not far from where you were found. I felt it myself. I sent a friend to check what it was when we found you, shivering in the cold on the brink of death”

“You’re saying I just Apparated here? But I haven’t learned how to do that yet... and I haven’t got my wand. And you can’t Apparate in Hogwarts grounds” Harry said in confusion.

“Tell me Harry Potter... you really don’t remember how you got here?” the old man asked very slowly. He made Harry think of Dumbledore for a moment.

“No... I don’t. Like I said, I woke up and I was standing in the middle of the snowstorm” Harry felt vulnerable. He didn’t have his wand to protect himself with, in case this man worked with Voldemort. He couldn’t see without his glasses, not to mention how very naked he was right now under the mantle. But even if he did have all those, he couldn’t move his limbs at all. He was seriously exposed to danger.

“Give it time, Harry Potter. It would be unwise to try to move in the state you’re in. I will not hurt you. I can’t leave this tree, you see”

“Well... I can’t really see, actually... I need my glasses” Harry mumbled.

“For the time being, rest. Nothing will hurt you while you sleep. By the time you’re up, you will have control of your limbs again” the old man advised.

Suddenly Harry felt very tired. His eyes started drooping and he lowered back to the ground, succumbing to the darkness.

* * *

 

When Harry woke up, he could feel pain in his arms and legs. Now he was sure it wasn’t a dream as his hands felt especially numb from frostbites, but upon inspection he realized they were bandaged. Someone had taken care of his injuries whilst he slept.

“There are clothing left there for you. It would be enough to protect you from the cold” Harry jumped slightly when the old man spoke to him. Harry felt the ground for the aforementioned clothes and started putting them on when he found them. They weren’t robes, but they weren’t muggle clothing either. They felt weird. When he stood, he tried to look at the old man in the tree.

“So.. you’re a seer?” Harry asked.

“More or less” he replied.

“Where is this, actually? You mentioned about some kind of wall”

“We are in Westeros, Beyond the Wall. This is the North”

“Where is that? Is it in Scotland?” Harry furrowed his brows.

“Tell me Harry, have you ever heard of Winterfell? House Stark? What about Valyria? House Targaryen?” the old man asked patiently.

“No. I’ve never heard of them”

“Aegon Targaryen, the Conqueror?”

“No”

“Tell me everything about yourself. Where you grew up, how you became a wizard”

Harry hesitated. Was it wise to do that? What if he worked for Voldemort? But then again if he did, wouldn’t he know all about Harry?

“I grew up with the Dursleys in Little Whinging, Surrey. When I was eleven years old, I got an acceptance letter to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and that was when I found out I was a wizard”

“So you were always a wizard?”

“Yes. My parents were wizards. So I’m in my fifth year at Hogwarts now, learning magic. It was just another normal day. But I woke up here”

The old man was silent for a long time. Harry slowly walked towards the tree, trying to get a better view of him.

“Listen, Harry Potter.. I have reason to believe.. that you came from another world”

“What?” Harry blurted “Another world?”

“Yes.. after all, this wouldn’t be the first time. The Children of The Forest didn’t just spawn out of nowhere”

By this time Harry didn’t quite catch up anymore.

“Or maybe they did, just like you. You must have slipped into this world through some kind of portal, which explains the surge of power we felt at dawn yesterday”

“Can you help me get back? I have something important to do..”

“What is it? What is happening in your world?”

“Well.. a lot is happening but I don’t see why you need to know” Harry felt a bit defensive. He’s been laying it all down for the old man “can I go outside? I need go back”

“The snowstorm won’t stop for another week, Harry Potter. If you left, it would take approximately thirty beats until your heart stops. You wouldn’t be able to go anywhere” the old man said patiently.

“I really need to go back” Harry repeated to himself. Voldemort was getting stronger by the minute. His friends must be worried sick for him. He didn’t know how long he’s been gone for sure.

“Tell me” the old man insisted.

After a few minutes, Harry gave in.

“There’s a Dark wizard back in my world. I need to stop him or he’ll kill everyone I care about” he immediately remembered Sirius. Oh Sirius.

“Why does it have to be you?” the crow asked.

“There was a prophecy, my parents died because of it. Neither can live while the other survives” Harry slumped to the ground, looking at his hands “but I have to do it. He’s destroying our world and I need to stop him”

The crow went silent again.

“From what I’ve learned from my centuries of watching, Harry.. I know that nothing ever happens for no reason. A certain force put you here in this world. An action of someone at some point in time opened that portal and let you in. There’s a reason behind all this”

Harry perked up “Who would do that to me? Why?”

“I don’t have all the answers, after all, you’re not from this world.. if you were, perhaps it would be different”

Harry slumped back down.

“But there’s a reason why you were sent here, not King’s Landing, not Dorne, or Valyria. Here, with me. And I might be able to help you. I can help you use magic without a wand, Harry”

Harry widened his eyes “is that even possible..?”

“Well, your ancestors must have been able to do that. Man weren’t always clothed, just like how wizards didn’t always have wands. They must have done it with their hands, at first, like how man handled everything else. Ancient magic. You may learn how to open the portal and get back. You may even learn to fix your eyesight”

“But.. wouldn’t that take a while? I might be stuck here for weeks..”

“You don’t really have much of a choice, I would think”

The old man was right. The snowstorm didn’t sound like it would recede any time soon. And like the old man mentioned before, there was no known civilization within miles from here. He would be food for wolves before he made it anywhere. Without a wand, he couldn’t do much. His only choice was to trust the old man to teach him wandless magic.

“Why are you stuck in the tree anyway? Do you need help getting down?” Harry asked.

“Well.. I’m sort of one with the tree. I can’t leave it or I would die” he answered.

Die? Now that’s extreme. “How are you supposed to teach me if you can’t move?”

“Come closer”

Harry slowly walked to the tree. As he came near to a branch, the crow said

“Grab a hold of that branch next to you. We will meet in another timeline”

With indifference towards what he said, Harry just went with it. He held the branch next to him, and suddenly the world whirled around and he was somewhere else. Harry found himself standing in the middle of a forest, with tall trees aged with great years around him and falling leaves landing on the green grass on which he was standing. He looked around to see if there was anyone there. He was alone.

“This is still the same world, I assure you” Harry jumped “in fact, it’s the very same place as we were just now. Except, it’s a thousand years before” the old man strode up to him relaxedly.

He was wearing clothes similar to Harry’s, black leather breeches and leather tunic as if they were in some kind of medieval film. His boots crunched the leaves softly, slowly approaching Harry showing every bit of his good intention.

“You’re saying we travelled back in time? You can do that here without a time-turner?”

“Yes and no. Only the Three-Eyed Crow has the power to travel in time. But it’s unquestionably different from your world. I can’t change anything, I can only watch” he said the last part almost like he was talking to himself, his expression suddenly becoming solemn.

“Well... back in my world we could only travel back a few hours. Not years like this” Harry said.

“Is that so.. well then, Harry. In order to send you back, we need to know how far your magical powers extend” the old man began.

* * *

 

It has been three months since Harry disappeared. Hogwarts was the only safe place left in Great Britain, and that was only because the ancient magic protecting the castle was sacred and powerful. Dumbledore stopped leaving the school, because twice he did and it only made the Death Eaters come attacking.

And for Draco, the only reason he hadn’t joined his father was because Dumbledore was still alive. He knew it was only a matter of time.

Granger and Weasel became the hope of Gryffindor, but they were all still waiting for their hero to come back. Apparently Granger has done extensive research to find answers to Harry’s mysterious disappearance but came up with nothing. The only reason they believed Harry wasn’t dead was because Voldemort hadn’t announced anything of the sort. Draco knew for a fact that Voldemort didn’t have Harry but that alone was small comfort. Christmas break was coming near, Draco would have to go home. He might not even return to Hogwarts after that.

 


	3. Harry's Return

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry comes back to Hogwarts right into Draco's arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Just a few more minutes._

Harry focused his breathing on a pace. He was sitting in the middle of a field of snow, not far outside the cave where the Three-Eyed Crow was waiting.  
For the past three months, they’ve been training Harry to be in tune with the world. The old man insisted it was essential to unlock his ancient magic. He had been able to perform small tasks without a wand, but those times were short-lived. Harry would sometimes drop a rock halfway through levitating it across the cave, or have extreme internal pains in his hand for days after performing a simple wandless charm. The old man said Harry was too stressed out, that he was thinking too much. He needed to let go.

So Harry had been trying to be one with his surroundings. He had recalled and relived all the memories that he could, from the years of living in a cupboard under the stairs, to watching Sirius getting struck by a curse and lifted through the veil, the smiling faces of Ron and Hermione on a weeknight study session. It was like Occlumency lessons, but without the pressure and the pain.

_Breathe in. Breathe out._

Harry came to terms with a lot of things. He accepted that the moment Voldemort chose to go after him instead of Neville, his parents were doomed to their fate. He accepted that it was now either him or Riddle. He accepted that he was never meant to live a normal childhood. Most importantly he learned that, although Harry was mostly responsible for his death, Sirius had known exactly what he was doing. It might have taken too short a time to accept all these, but what the Three-Eyed Crow had shown taught him there was so much that he didn’t know.

Before he started with his meditation, the crow took him to a journey through time. He was in the middle of practicing a cleaning charm when the old man spoke to him

“Take a branch. I want to show you this world”

Harry followed without protest.

Harry had watched Aegon Targaryen take over Westeros astride a dragon bigger than mountains. He watched its flames engulf the lands, castles and stones melting into fire and brimstone. He saw the rise and fall of House Targaryen as kings, the incest, the betrayal, the madness. He saw House Stark falling one by one, the beheading, the butchering, and the disappearance. He saw the wildlings of the north, running south in fear of their lives. He watched as the Children of The Forest made the first White Walker out of man, and how they descended Winter to the world and made armies of the dead. It was like Dementors taking full form, leading legions of Inferi. Yet as if that wasn’t enough, the old man showed Harry the lives of the people, powerless in their homes, subjected to whom their land falls under banner. It was a war of epic proportions, destroying more lives and families than he could count and he saw, Harry saw just how small he was in the world.

When the crow brought him back to the present, Harry couldn’t stop the tears running down his face.

_Yes._

The past few days, he’d been able to connect to the world. He could feel the earth in his veins, he could taste the air, he could map the world with his mind. Harry could see Winterfell just through his mind without having the Three-Eyed Crow to bring him there. He could channel the earth magic to his body and use it at his will.  
The first time he succeeded, he almost tore himself apart for absorbing too much of the earth magic. He went down with a nasty fever for a whole week, his whole body was charged with negative energy as result of bad channelling. But as he tried to neutralize it upon the old man’s suggestion by channelling his energy to the earth, he quickly got better.

_Come to me._

He was now calling for the magic again, willing it into his hand. Harry found that he didn’t need incantations. He could do it all silently, and this allowed for numerous other spells to be done, spells that he never learned, spells that weren’t taught in Hogwarts. Even so, he got used to reciting the incantation aloud as it seemed to be stronger that way.

“Incendio”

A great fire erupted in front of him, and it slowly formed a ring around him. He stood up. With a wave of his hand, the fires disappeared. He then started motioning in the air with his hand, and the wind started to build. He did it continuously, forming his own storm in the clearing. There was now a giant snowstorm and Harry was in the centre, controlling it.

“Harry” he heard the Three-Eyed Crow in his head.

Harry closed his fist and the storm immediately ceased, sending waves of snow in circular motion around him. He then went to the cave.

“You are far from where you started now” the old man praised him.

“You have been a better teacher than Dumbledore, as much as I wouldn’t like to admit” Harry realised “four years under his watch and all I could do was Expelliarmus” he muttered.

“Yes, I saw your world. But you can’t really blame him. Your world is a bit further developed than ours, the people a bit slower”

Harry didn’t know if he should feel offended.

“Anyway” he continued “I think you are in control of your magic enough now to perform it on yourself”

“Haven’t I done that before? I learned to fly” Harry said. That wasn’t entirely true. He managed to hover a few feet above ground but no higher.

“The eyes are particularly sensitive and needs greater care than healing a common cold, boy. You’re not stupid, are you”

“No, well. Hm” Harry frowned.

“Now. With your eyes closed, channel the earth’s magic into you like you did before, but send it all to your eyes”

As the old man instructed, Harry started channelling slowly.

“Only let the magic flow into it little by little, slowly until you can’t let it in anymore”

Harry started to feel a bit of stinging in his eyes, but he knew that was a good sign. It meant his eyes were healing. The pain increased and he screwed up his face in concentration, careful not to risk blinding himself. He started to hiss, and then the pain subsided almost immediately. When it was completely gone, he stopped letting the magic flow. Harry slowly opened his eyes and everything was clear.  
Harry let out a whoop of triumph and ran outside the cave. He could see clearly without his glasses and for the first time in a long time, he smiled.

“Expecto Patronum” he said out loud, his hand outstretched.

His giant stag erupted and started prancing around, then it turned to greet him. He beamed at it. It followed him as he went back to the cave.

“Now Harry. What you’re going to learn next is nothing similar to what you’ve been doing the past few months” his tone suddenly serious, Harry listened carefully “opening a portal to another world is a different magic entirely”

Harry hoped he could go back home before killing himself first.

* * *

 

Draco was taking a stroll near the lake on a lonely midnight. He couldn’t handle the sombre mood of the Great Hall that evening, with the Gryffindors looking mournful all the time. They weren’t always like that of course, they would occasionally throw a laugh or two to keep up the mood. But the mourning would always come back. It was a repetitive cycle that was getting tiring to watch.  
He stopped and gazed out to the lake, thinking about Harry. Always about Harry. It’s the end of the year and he himself was seriously thinking Harry was dead, that Voldemort had won forever. Not yet, of course. Dumbledore was still there. He let out a great sigh and turned to walk back to the castle.

Just after a few steps ahead, suddenly there was a strong gust of wind and a light emitted behind him and he could see his giant shadow on the exterior walls of Hogwarts. Draco whipped around and held out his hand to cover his eyes from the blinding light.

Then the winds stopped and the light disappeared, and in its place stood none other than Harry Potter.

Draco’s eyes stretched so wide they were positively comical. Harry looked like he just came back from war. His hair was dishevelled as always, but longer, as if he hadn’t gotten a haircut since the day he disappeared. That was all Draco could gather before Harry stumbled toward him, muttering “Draco..” and fell into his arms.

Draco stood there frozen, holding Harry Potter in his arms, next to the lake at midnight.

_What was Harry wearing? Leather tunic..?_

“Potter. Potter!” he laid Harry down and shook him. Harry didn’t respond. When he felt for a heartbeat, he confirmed that Harry wasn’t dead. Draco quickly took him to the hospital wing.  
Madam Pomfrey positively had a heart attack when she saw Draco with a levitated Harry Potter in tow, but she told him to put him down on a bed nonetheless. He was told to fetch the headmaster while she took care of Harry.

* * *

 

“Where did you find him, Mr. Malfoy?”

Dumbledore stood at the edge of Harry’s bed in the hospital wing, behind him McGonagall, Snape, and Madam Pomfrey. Draco stood beside him.

“I found him next to the lake. I saw a blinding light out of nowhere, and then it disappeared. And Ha- Potter was there”

“Look at him, professor. He’s very weak, possibly from using great amount of magic” Madam Pomfrey supplied.

“And he looks like he hasn’t been able to attend to his appearance since the day he disappeared as well” Snape noted. Draco found the long hair and the stubble not so bad on Potter. He looked hot actually, if he cleaned up a bit.

“He was wearing this too” Madam Pomfrey held up the tunic Potter was wearing. They all shared a look of confusion at this choice of clothing.

“Is it possible that the light was his doing? That’s how he got here?” McGonagall asked Dumbledore.

“It’s impossible to Apparate within Hogwarts” Snape reminded them.

“It didn’t look like Apparition” Draco said “it was like... he came through a door”

Dumbledore perked up at this. He looked at Draco. “A door, you say?”

“Yes” _He knows something._

“I found that his body was covered in bruises. Some of them seem to be months old. There are some that are recent as well, really deep wounds.” Madam Pomfrey said again as she showed them a gash on Harry’s arm. A long stretch of skin was gaping open, revealing a little bit of his flesh.

McGonagall gasped in horror.

“Wounds like this are everywhere on his body. They were inflicted on him quite forcefully. There are marks indicating he tried to fight it off” she finished.  
Harry was taken by someone, someone who tortured him for the whole period of time he was missing, as explained by Madam Pomfrey with the bruises on his body, the old and the new.

“Good God... who did this to him?” McGonagall asked.

“It doesn’t matter. What matters now is Harry is home. We should let him rest” Dumbledore spoke with finality “do inform me once he’s awake, Madam Pomfrey. Professor Snape will assist you in any potion you require brewing. Minerva, see that his close friends Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger are informed of this in the morning. The rest of us should retreat”

The professors left. Without a chance to look at Harry a while longer, Draco was ushered out of the hospital wing by Madam Pomfrey. Draco rushed back to his dorm and went to his bed. Staring at the ceiling, he went through the events that had happened tonight.

Harry has returned. After six months, he’s finally come back.

Despite Harry’s condition, Draco couldn’t help but feel intense relief that he was safe after all. But where had he been? What kept him away? Who did that to him? No doubt the whole school will be enraptured tomorrow by the news that The Boy Who Lived was back.

But what made him happiest that he could giggle like a little girl if he wasn’t still feeling nauseated by Harry’s wounds, was the tingling he still felt where he had held Harry. He unmistakably said his name before he passed out, he had recognized Draco. The display of absolute trust made Draco happier than he had felt in months.


	4. Change

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry wakes up to a changed archrival.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When Harry woke the next morning, Hermione and Ron were there. He saw Malfoy too at the back, but no one seemed to notice him.

“Harry” he could hear the relief in her voice.

“You alright, mate?” Ron asked. “Here, I brought your glasses” he extended the pair of spectacles toward his friend.

Harry took it but didn’t put it on. He didn’t need it anymore but he couldn’t find the energy to talk. He spent the whole night reinforcing himself with the world around him, the one he wasn’t accustomed to despite having lived there longer. He was having the worst headache, and his scar was hurting again after months of being dormant. Coming back to the world reconnected him with Voldemort, and it was inevitable. Despite all that, he was glad to see his friends again after such a long time.

“How are you feeling?” Hermione asked worriedly.

“Honestly don’t force him, he only just woke up” Madam Pomfrey came bustling in, instantly handing Harry a vial of potion. “Drink this, it will help with the headache” as Harry drank his potion slowly, surprised to find himself able to gulp down the bitter liquid without feeling like vomiting as Madam Pomfrey continued “now, Harry James Potter. What did you do? Last night you had bruises all over your body, bruises which would have by the looks of them taken months to recover. And this morning they’re gone. How is that possible?”

Harry didn’t answer, he just swallowed the last of his gulps slowly with his eyes closed. He was wondering why Malfoy was there. Then he looked at Madam Pomfrey.

“I don’t know, Madam Pomfrey” he handed her back the vial.

Madam Pomfrey looked greatly shocked, but she shook her head quickly and said “Mr. Weasley, Ms. Granger. Mr. Potter needs as much rest as he can get. Do not strain him” with that, she left to her office.

“Harry, how are you feeling?” Hermione asked for the second time.

“I’m fine. Just a bit dizzy” he said with a weak smile.

Hermione immediately hugged him, crying softly “You were gone for so long, I was so worried!” she said to his shoulder.

Harry just let her cry, giving a reassuring smile at Ron across him. He was glad to be back. After a while, Hermione let go and sat back in her chair, leaving a damp spot on his hospital gown. He thought of Malfoy across the room, and for some reason Harry didn’t mind so much that he was obviously listening in. He turned his gaze outside a window on his right.

“Harry, where have you been?” Hermione asked.

To be honest, Harry didn’t remember how he got back. He remembered the Three-Eyed Crow, all the lessons he taught him. All the things he had learned for a year in the other world. But he was having trouble remembering the past week.

“I went to a strange place” was all he said.

“But Harry, where did you go? Even The Trace couldn’t detect you. Dad checked on that and they couldn’t pinpoint where you were at all” Ron said.

“We were so scared that Voldemort got you, that he managed to sever the connection somehow” Hermione said, choking back tears.

“Professor Dumbledore said you were found at the lake last night, you just appeared out of nowhere” Ron said.

He remembered going through the portal and arriving in Hogwarts. He remembered seeing Draco Malfoy, silver eyes looking straight at him.

Then the eyes turned icy blue. He saw people, half-burnt, moth-eaten, mutilated, beheaded people with missing limbs, legions and legions of them, marching towards him, running, crawling, blood, blood, blood, their hands holding him, pulling him, ripping him apart and he saw haunting blue eyes.

**Blood.**

**Blood.**

**Blood.**

**Death.**

He heard someone screaming their lungs out somewhere in the room, and he was covering his ears with his hands to block out the noise, and Ron and Hermione were yelling at him until Madam Pomfrey came back to give him Dreamless Sleep, and it wasn’t until he tasted blood in his throat that he realised the screaming was his.

* * *

 

Draco Malfoy was walking around the Hogwarts corridors on his routine night patrol. In his hand was the Marauder’s Map, one he stole from Weasel earlier in Care of Magical Creatures today. They placed their bags and robes on a big rock near the forest before they started with their lesson, and he swiftly took it from Weasel’s pocket. He saw Harry use it ages ago, had heard the incantation, and was now able to watch every movement in the castle.

He looked at the stationary little dot marking Harry Potter still in the hospital wing.

A few days ago Harry had a reaction. When asked where he went, Draco saw that he was remembering what had happened before breaking out in rage and fear, screaming at his friends to get away from him. To **not touch** him. It was alarming.

It made Granger break out in tears and turn to leave, as commanded by Madam Pomfrey. Weasel followed after her, wincing after Harry’s screams. Neither of them noticed him sitting on the edge of the bed in front of Harry’s, because he was under Disillusionment. Draco watched Madam Pomfrey carefully calm him down, as Harry slowed down his breathing and fell asleep. He hadn’t woken up since then, Draco knew, because he’d been going to the infirmary every night.

He would sit at the side of Harry’s bed, the one Madam Pomfrey didn’t use. He made sure he was under Disillusionment every time of course, in case anyone were to come and visit Harry unexpectedly.

He would watch Harry, thinking about the past months when he’d been missing. The whole castle was pregnant with tension without him there. They were all just dangling on the hope of their Golden Boy coming back. They all dreaded the day Voldemort would rain down upon them with his Death Eaters, bringing the corpse of Harry Potter with him to display for all to see.

The morning Harry did come back, the whole castle erupted with life again. There were tears of joy, and the Great Hall sprung with livelihood brought on not only by the Gryffindors, but the other houses as well. Even some Slytherins seemed to be relieved.

He would watch the rising and falling motion of Harry’s chest, breathing deeply in his sleep. His face was clean-shaven again, though his hair was tied in a ponytail. He looked like someone else. Harry would stir once in a while but he never woke up. Just when he thought tonight wouldn’t be any different, Harry opened his eyes.

Draco held his breath.

Harry’s eyes darted around. They seemed to land on the other boy for a second, making Draco’s breath hitch, before he sat up in his bed. He rubbed his temples, putting both hands in his face and stayed like that for a minute.

Draco stayed perfectly still in his chair, breathing quietly. Harry didn’t know he was here.

Then the dark-haired boy looked up and stared right at him. Draco didn’t dare breathe. There was no way Harry could know he was here. But then Harry leaned toward him, his hand reaching out slowly.

“Draco...” he whispered.

Draco scrambled to his feet with the chair making a loud screech and ran out of the hospital wing as if his life depended on it.

* * *

 

It’s been a few days since Harry woke up the second time. Madam Pomfrey refused all visitors despite his protests, saying he’s not well enough to see his friends again. She didn’t want to risk another hysteria attack because the last one took a heavy toll on him, which he couldn’t quite understand why. He was physically well again now. He couldn’t even remember his breakdown.

What he did notice was the presence of Draco Malfoy every time he was conscious. He could feel him there in between sleeps, and sometimes his presence would wake him up. He’d open his eyes slightly and see the lithe figure just sitting next to his bed. What did the boy want with him? He was breaking all norms of rivalry with this dedicated attention.

But wasn’t Malfoy always watching him?

That was all he could think of when Malfoy scrambled out of the room, his hand still outstretched to the empty seat, a few nights ago. He never came back again. Now he couldn’t direct the same dislike and loathing towards the Slytherin as he did the past five years anymore. He’s learned so much to not to give Malfoy another chance, at whatever it was he was doing.

Moving on from the young Malfoy, Harry tried to recall what had happened the week before he came back home. No matter how hard or how long he thought about it, he couldn’t remember anything from that week.

Deciding he couldn’t stand being cooped up in the hospital wing any longer, Harry decided to go for a walk.

Back in the Slytherin dungeons, Draco Malfoy laid awake in his bed. He was vaguely aware of the snoring coming from Goyle’s bed even though he forgot to set up the Silencing Charm tonight. Even so, his thoughts were far from the confines of the room. He decided to check the Marauder’s Map instead of going to see Harry, he just couldn’t rest not knowing Harry’s still safe and sound. But when he didn’t see Harry’s dot on the hospital wing, he shot up immediately.

His heart started to beat wildly and he scanned the map critically for Harry’s name. What if he disappeared again?

_Please. Please. Please._

When he found his name, he became even more panicked. Harry was on the Astronomy Tower, on the very edge. Without missing a beat, Draco ran outside his room and started toward the tower.

_What’s he doing?!_

After what felt like hours, Draco finally made it to the top of the tower. Breathing heavily, his eyes searched for Harry. He found him standing bare feet on top of the railing on the edge, the wind mussing his hair, just staring out into the dark as if ready to jump.

Draco dashed toward the other boy, and just as Harry motioned to jump, he grabbed him around the waist and pulled him back abruptly. Harry yelped and they both fell to the floor with a loud thud.

Harry tried to turn to look at whoever it was that suddenly grabbed him out of nowhere, but it was a struggle as Draco kept his arms firmly around his waist. When he caught a glimpse of blond hair though, Harry exclaimed

“Malfoy?! What are you doing?”

“What am I doing? What are you doing, Potter?! Trying to off yourself just when you got back?”

“What?” Harry was genuinely confused for a moment, then realised what Draco meant. He turned around as much as he could, Draco’s arms constricting his movement as if making sure he didn’t get up and jump off any time soon. “I’m not trying to kill myself, you idiot!” he yelled at his face.

“What the fuck was that then, Potter? You were going to jump off, I fucking saw you”

“I wasn’t gonna.. ugh, just let me go” he yelled and tried to wrench free.

“Not on my watch” Draco yelled back.

“I’m not trying to kill myself, you dolt! Just let go of me” he said again.

Draco looked into his face for while before letting go of his hands. Harry sat up.

“What are you playing at, Malfoy? Last time I tried to talk to you, you ran off as if you hadn’t been visiting me the past week. And now you’re here?” despite the volume at which he spoke, Harry’s tone was curious.

“How did you know that?” Draco sounded scandalized.

“Come on. Why are you so concerned that you’d even stop me from trying to ‘off myself’ in the middle of the night?” _Isn’t that what you’ve been trying to do the past four years?_ He left the rest of his question silent.

Draco sat up too. Instead of replying, he just stared at the other boy. He took in the green eyes in clear view without his glasses, and the dark hair blowing in the wind. It gave him a warm feeling to see those eyes again. After what Harry had just tried to do, suddenly he couldn’t keep up with his usual cold demeanour anymore. He realised he was that close to losing him.

“Malfoy?”

“Hogwarts wasn’t the same without you” he looked down.

Harry didn’t say anything back. His absence had that much impact on his arch-rival? He didn’t know how to respond to this unfamiliar Draco. For long minutes, they sat facing each other on the Astronomy Tower, thinking what to say now that Draco had broken the barrier of all bitter enmity five years in the making between them.


	5. A Little Kiss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When rivals start talking instead of spitting at each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Hogwarts wasn’t the same without you”

A year ago Harry would have lashed out scathing accusations about how Malfoy was only saying that as part of some evil plan he laid out. But the Harry from a year ago was gone. He came back a changed man.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“What I said, Potter. The Gryffindors have been acting like abandoned puppies with you gone. I wish I could say it wasn’t the same for the other houses too, but there they were” Draco was talking in a low tone so foreign to Harry he couldn’t see him as the same Draco Malfoy as before.

“I haven’t gotten the chance to talk to anyone. Did anything happen while I was gone?” Harry crossed his legs and assumed a more comfortable position. Draco got that the gesture was meant to say that they were now in casual conversation. He too crossed his legs.

“The Death Eaters came to attack Hogwarts twice when Dumbledore was away. They burned down the groundkeeper’s hut. The courtyard’s completely damaged. Many parts of the castle are destroyed” he listed down slowly.

“Did anyone get hurt?” Harry asked.

“The first attack, yes. Many were injured, but no casualties. A lot of students went back home to their parents after that”

“And you? How... how are you?” Harry tried not to feel awkward asking this.

Draco just looked at him.

“Aren’t you going back to... your dad?” Harry pressed on.

Draco didn’t know how to say the only reason he stayed was because of Harry. Harry didn’t know how Draco felt about him. Harry had no idea about anything when it came to him. He wanted nothing more than tell Harry everything and just wait to be told what to do. But he didn’t know what to say. He could only revel in this moment they were having, he couldn’t think past it.

Harry obviously took the silence as him not wanting to talk about it.

“You said Hogwarts wasn’t the same without me, that not just Gryffindor, but other houses too, were... not acting normally” he didn’t know how else to say it from Draco’s vague description “does that include you too? That’s why you’ve been visiting me every night?”

“I wanted to make sure you were really back” he replied.

“Come on... surely my return only just ruined your life? You must have had the school all to you Slytherins. It must have been a dream come true to see me gone” Harry said incredulously.

“I admit, it was kind of fun the first few months. Then it just got boring” he lied.

Draco kept his gaze downward, looking at Harry’s hands in front of him. He wanted to hold them. He wanted them to hold him.

“Draco” Harry said.

He looked up to the other boy’s face.

“Are you alright?” this time Harry didn’t hold any awkwardness in his voice or manner. He seemed genuinely worried.

When the bright green eyes that seemed to be glowing in the dead of night focused on him, he was lost. All his life he wanted them to look at him that way, and there they were, all for him. He only ever saw anger and determination when they were directed at him, but now he could see warmth. The warmth only Weasel and Granger had the luxury to see. The Light.

He didn’t realise he’d been leaning in until those eyes widened in surprise the moment he pressed Harry’s lips against his.

Draco gasped and pulled back. They stared at each other for a few moments before Draco got on his feet lightning quick and disappeared again down the stairs. Harry just sat on the floor, still leaning slightly forward.

* * *

 

_“Who was that boy with blond hair I saw earlier?” the Three-Eyed Crow asked him when they got back._

_It was the end of another session of looking into Harry’s memories. The old man said it was essential for Harry to progress by re-evaluating the events of his past. This time they watched the day when Harry met Buckbeak for the first time in the forest._

_“Blond? Oh... that was Malfoy” he said._

_“Who is he?”_

_“He’s just an arrogant git who vowed to make my life miserable from day one of school. He’s so stuck up, always complaining about every little thing. Just because he’s pureblood he thinks he’s better than the rest of us” he said scornfully._

_The old man gazed out, seeming to be deep in thought. It wasn’t something new._

_“You should look at him again, Harry. You seem to be misinterpreting his messages, although I do think they’re more misleading than helpful..”_

_“Messages? What are you talking about?” Harry frowned._

_The man chuckled “young love” he said._

_“Love? What?” Harry tried again._

_The crow dismissed him and they began the next lesson, and Harry forgot all about Malfoy and things of love._

* * *

 

Harry woke up with the sun streaming on his face. He was glad that he was starting to remember the empty voids in his mind now. He thought about his dream regarding that particular conversation and immediately remembered what happened last night.

Draco had kissed him.

He stared at the canopy of his bed, trying to figure out what really happened. Draco had undoubtedly been acting different since Harry got back. It was so unlike the arrogant git he had known the past four years.

Then it dawned to him. Maybe he never really knew Draco at all.

“Morning. You alright?” he heard Ron ask from the bed next to him.

“Morning. Yeah, I’m fine” Harry sat up and rubbed his eyes.

“Well, you should get ready. Breakfast will be over in an hour” Ron said.

“Roger” Harry quickly got up.

Somehow he was in good spirit this morning. He took a quick shower and examined one of his wounds in front of the mirror. It was his biggest scar, on the back of his right shoulder. He got it the first time the White Walkers found him.

Harry and the old man had argued about Sirius that day. The old man told him it wasn’t entirely his fault but they clearly weren’t words of comfort. Harry was tired of all the sob sessions of looking into the tragic life of the people in Westeros, scared of the fact that his only chance of going back was learning magic on a scale he was positive no wizard has done before, and anxious that he might take years to do just that. But the old man only pushed him further, told him there was no time to rest, and said a number of things which he realised now were only words of advice. He was especially angry at the time he took it that the crow dismissed his guilt as something fleeting. He stormed out of the cave in defiance and started walking away as far as he could, not realizing that that was a really stupid thing to do.

That was when he saw the White Walkers. They descended on him like wolves closing in on their prey. He remembered panicking beyond his little mind and running for his life in the opposite direction. They knew him. They knew what he was, and they wanted him. They wanted to take him, and cut him open, devour him and take his magic. The Three-Eyed Crow told him that. He succeeded to burn the most of them after getting slashed at the back by an Undead. He barely managed to escape on the back of the great wolf sent by the Three-Eyed Crow.

From then on, he never doubted the Three-Eyed Crow again.

“You coming, Harry?” Ron’s voice brought him back to the present.

“Yeah” Harry shook his head and got dressed. He thought his shirt was a bit too tight but ignored it. He had no time now to cut his hair as he had intended to do earlier, so he just tried to pat down the messy shrub and tightened his ponytail.

“By the way... here’s your wand” Ron came up from behind him, holding his wand “the morning we found you gone, I saw this still on your bedside table. You can’t imagine how worried I was, mate. I kept it safe the whole time you were gone” he held it up for Harry.

Harry really didn’t need a wand anymore, but he took it from Ron’s hand and gripped as if testing it. It felt familiar, and that was it.

“Thanks, Ron. I’m sorry about what happened. I’ll tell you and Hermione all about it later” he said.

Ron looked concerned.

“It’s alright. I can handle it. If I act up again just give me Dreamless Sleep, it’s in my bag”

“Alright, if you say so. Good to have you back, Harry” Ron smiled warmly.

Harry smiled back. He and Ron started heading for the Great Hall.

* * *

 

When Harry Potter walked in next to Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger to join Hogwarts for breakfast that morning, the Great Hall exploded with cheers from all houses.

“Oh my god” said a Ravenclaw girl.

“Look at him” said a Hufflepuff girl.

“He’s fucking gorgeous” said a Slytherin boy to his friend.

“Why the hell does he look like that? I thought he was taken and tortured the past year, not groomed and trained to look like a Greek God” said Blaise Zabini to no one in particular.

Draco didn’t look up, he knew what they were fussing about. Harry had a growth spurt during the time he was missing, and The Boy Who Lived finally looked the part. Harry’s long hair reached his shoulders and even though it was tied in a loose ponytail, it still looked shaggy, more like a rockstar’s styled look than the usual teenage mess. His body was now lean and toned, completely different from the scrawny boy he used to be and now his clothes could actually fit him. Draco remembered how he unconsciously leaned in to kiss him last night. Grimacing, he forced himself to continue munching his food as if it was another day at Hogwarts without Harry Potter.

Gryffindors were gathering around Harry, cheering him and patting on his back. Some Ravenclaws shook his hand, some Hufflepuffs gave him a hug.

“Come on, guys. Harry needs to eat” the voice of Ron Weasley resounded the hall in the authoritative tone he adopted the past year as he was made prefect.

Gradually, the students gave Harry some final words and left to their tables.

“Harry. How are you feeling?” Hermione asked.

“I’m fine. I just need to eat real food right now” and he gulfed down all the toasts and muffins that he could before either of them said anything else. Ron and Hermione and the Gryffindors around them simply stared in alarm.

“Where are your glasses, Harry?” Ginny asked. She sat down next to him after the earlier commotion and greeted him with tears of joy.

“Don’t need ‘em” he managed to say in between bites.

“Don’t need them? What happened to your eyes?” Hermione asked.

Harry sat straight, still munching. After a while, he swallowed and said “I corrected them” he then grabbed another toast and started eating.

Hermione kept asking him things and he just answered each one patiently. He had missed this. He wasn’t about to complain about anything.

Coming back to Hogwarts was overwhelming. Harry could feel everyone’s magic around him, the magic in the castle, in the grounds and the walls. It was different from the isolation he felt back in Westeros. Back there he could feel the distant people miles away on the other part of the earth, but here everyone was near and close to him. And they were magical folk. He felt like he could take their magic out with a gentle flick of his finger if he wanted to. Everything was alive.

Noticing a particular magic signature directed towards him, Harry looked up to Draco Malfoy. He noticed Draco turned to his friend pointedly right after. He didn’t know what Draco was playing at, but he couldn’t sense anything hostile coming from him. Whatever it was, Harry would try to find out. After all, that was the natural order of things between them.


	6. Stripes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry starts to give zero fucks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the Great Hall after breakfast, Draco set down his letter with trembling hands.

 

_Draco,_

_As the heir to the Malfoy name, I expect you to live up to my expectations and those before me. You are to return next week over the holidays. I am certain you won’t disappoint me._

_Your father,_

_Lucius Malfoy_

This was it. This was the moment he’d been dreading. His father telling him to come home to obtain the Dark Mark. He didn’t want to. He really didn’t want to.

He couldn’t feel his fingers and he had to squeeze his hands to make sure they didn’t fall off or anything. Unconsciously he glanced to look at Harry who was apparently looking at him. He met Harry’s gaze and they maintained eye contact for a minute before Hermione pulled his attention to her, and Draco stood to leave.

“Malfoy!”

Draco picked up his pace.

“Malfoy, wait!” Harry yelled. When he didn’t stop, he yelled again “Draco!”

He stopped and turned, crossing his arms. He held up his chin and kept his expression to one uninterested. Harry reached him.

“Is everything alright?” he asked.

Draco only raised his eyebrows. He wasn’t even going to answer that. Harry seemed to understand and changed the subject instead.

“Listen, um... about the other night” he began.

Draco’s palms started to get sweaty but he kept it cool. He didn’t budge a bit.

“Thank you for coming to see me. And for those other nights at the hospital wing”

But Draco remained passive. He knew silence would always make the other person talk more. Harry didn’t start to fidget as how he normally would. He possessed a calm that wasn’t there before. Even so, he stood his ground.

“I’m sorry if I said anything that offended you. I only meant to...” he broke off.

Suddenly Harry looked up and straight into his eyes. There was a stabbing in his chest and a voice was telling him to look away or Harry will see everything in his heart but he fought it with great effort. Harry only stared, and he wanted to scream.

“I don’t have all fucking day, Potter” he spat.

Cursing is unbecoming of a Malfoy yet he couldn’t help it when it comes to Potter.

“You know, Draco...” his voice was full of wonder.

“Malfoy”

Harry ignored him.

“I hardly know you” he said.

“No shit. Now, do you actually have something to say or are you here just to ogle at me?”

Harry frowned. “What’s with you? I thought we were fine that night... I thought things were different now”

_You were fine with it...?_

“What, that we’d be friends and laugh at each other’s jokes, or start braiding each other’s hairs and talking about our fucking feelings? I think not, Potter” he said menacingly.

“Why not?” Harry ignored his sarcastic remark, asking softly.

Something was crumbling in Harry’s eyes but he couldn’t decipher what it was. He wasn’t particularly gifted at reading emotions behind eyes anyway.

“You’re you and I’m me” he said simply.

He was going to turn and walk away when Harry grabbed his arm not too harshly.

“I’m not having any of that, Draco. That night, what was the kiss about?” Harry demanded.

Draco couldn’t look around. He was scared out of his wits and rooted to the ground. Harry was here calling out to him, but he was too afraid to reach back.

“Are we gonna pretend it never happened?”

_No. Please don’t._

“Draco?”

“Let go of me”

_Don’t let go. Take me with you. Save me too._

Harry let go hesitantly. Draco turned around and looked into those green eyes again.

“No. It never happened” he spoke slowly. He watched as a light dimmed in Harry’s eyes and he could hear something breaking but all he could do was walk away.

_What have I done?_

Draco walked and walked without any destination in mind until he reached his designated spot next to the lake. He stared out to the water just thinking about his father’s letter which was now crumpled in his hand.

Didn’t he promise to himself that he’d protect Harry in his own way? Maybe this was it. There was no way in this world for Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter to be anything but enemies. This was his path. A path carved by his father in which he had no choice but to submit.

Even so, better willingly than not.

* * *

 

The day passed much too slowly for Harry.

When girls pretended to bump into him in hallways (which actually involved them throwing themselves at him and groping at his person) he couldn’t bring himself to say anything and just shrugged them off. When boys did the same he just raised his eyebrow in mild surprise and simply walked away. Thankfully Ron noticed he was a bit out of it today and barked orders to stay away at anyone who tried again.

He kept replaying his conversation with Draco that morning in his head. The whole exchange streamed in front of his eyes, Draco mouthing his words slowly and repeatedly, which he until now was still trying to understand.

_“No. It never happened”_

Yet he couldn’t help remembering those lips that felt so soft when they touched his so sweetly.

“Mr. Potter”

_Wait, I thought he calls me just ‘Potter’?_

“Potter!”

_That’s right, but why does it sound like Snape?_

Something hard hit him at the back of his head. He shook his head and blinked a few times before looking up. Snape was looking down on him, nostrils flaring.

“50 points from Gryffindor”

Snape turned away and continued reading from a passage in their textbook. Harry scowled audibly, and Snape stopped. Ron turned to him at the scowl, looking at Harry as if he’d grown another head. Snape turned back to Harry very slowly, and the class grew with tension.

After their catastrophic Occlumency lessons last year, and the following Three-Eyed Raven’s analysis of him, Harry found that Snape was actually working under Dumbledore as a spy. It really didn’t change his opinion on the man though, as his attitude towards everyone in general was just childish.

“Is there something you wish to share, Mr. Potter?” Snape asked in a challenging tone, daring Harry to act out.

“No, sir” he said.

“Is that so? Certainly our celebrity has something to say, that is undoubtedly more important than class, seeing as he couldn’t be bothered to bring his attention to it. What is it that seems to...-“ before he was done, Harry said

“Just shut up” in a very tired way.

There were a few sharp intake of breaths, dropping of quills, and the rest of the class froze around the two. Even Draco tilted his head to look at the confrontation and that was the only thing Harry paid attention to. They looked at each other for a minute before the blond turned back to his book. Harry couldn’t help but feel as if he failed somehow.

“Get out of my class, Potter” Snape spat viciously.

Harry gathered his things and stood up, stepping very closely into Snape’s personal space, blatantly crossing boundaries with his face inches from his teacher. Noticing now that he was slightly taller, he tilted his head in a manner that said “Oh, look at that...?” as if it was some sort of achievement.  He thought he saw fear in Snape’s eyes, and he felt triumphant as he walked past the man towards the door.

Looking to blow off some steam, Harry headed for the Astronomy Tower in hopes that it was not in use for any class.

* * *

 

Draco laid in his bed that night.

Harry surprised him today. He was obviously probing for Draco’s attention, wanted him to take back his words, wanted something from him. The way he confronted Snape, the way in which he moved and spoke silently through his eyes, it was something Draco always did to him. Harry learned it from him. But he didn’t simply re-enact the manoeuvre, there was something of Harry in it too. His expression for one, was of pure resentment straight from his heart. It scared Draco, not because the look didn’t fit The Boy Who Lived.

It scared him because it did.

Draco closed his eyes. Next week, he would be going back home. He knew what was coming for him. No one will save him. Whatever happens, he wanted it to be his choice. He could always just disappear from the wizarding world, never to be seen again. But no. He was the Malfoy heir, and he would see to it that his obligation to his family was fulfilled, which right now beckoned him to join the Dark Lord, and that was what he would do.

He would protect Harry in his own way.

 

* * *

 

“You went to another world?”

“And did intense training under an old man in a tree?”

“You were chased down by an army of corpses because you have magic?”

“You lived with the wolves and the **humans** tried to eat you??”

“Come on, guys. It’s not like that’s so hard to believe given the things we’ve gone through the past five years” Harry pointed out.

Ron and Hermione murmured in agreement. They were in the Gryffindor common room by the fire, late at night when everyone had gone to bed. He wanted to say what he faced in Westeros was more inflicted by Mother Nature than magical forces, but Mother Nature there did have some magic that he really couldn’t explain how.

“In that world, magic wasn’t as advanced as ours. It would take time to perform a single magic, for example... if they wanted rain, they had to sit down in a group and do some singing ritual for a day. Here, everything is easy for us” he explained.

“Kind of how things were like back in the Dark Ages?” Hermione asked.

“You could say that” he said.

“And they were cannibals...?” Ron asked.

“Of course they weren’t all cannibals, Ron! We have cannibals here but you and I aren’t cannibals, are we?” Hermione said impatiently.

“Basically, the old man helped me learn to perform magic the old way. I don’t need my wand anymore” Harry said.

“That’s so cool” Ron said.

“What else did you learn, Harry?” Hermione asked.

“The thing that bothers me the most is the Three-Eyed Raven said me going there was likely not an accident”

Hermione gasped.

“He said an action of someone at some point in time might have resulted in me ending up there” he finished.

“Who would do that?” Ron asked in confusion.

“That’s the thing, isn’t it? Who would want to send Harry to that world, and why?” at this point, Hermione crossed her arms, furrowing her brows deep in thought.

“I don’t know” Harry said to himself.

“I think you should talk to Dumbledore about this, Harry” Hermione said.

“Right” he replied. For some reason, he wasn’t that keen to meet the headmaster just yet. There was a dislike that wasn’t there before.

“Gotta say though, the way you blew off Snape in class today. He looked like he was going to shit his pants right there, when you looked at him like that” Ron snickered.

“It was childish, Harry” Hermione said.

“I don’t know what came over me. I couldn’t give two shits to hear what he had to say about me anymore. I’m just done with sucking up to people” Harry said grudgingly.

“Care to explain?” Hermione tilted her head.

“It’s time I decide things for myself. I won’t let anyone do that for me anymore, I’m done” he said.

“In case you haven’t noticed, you’ve been doing exactly that since first year. I’m surprised you’re still alive, actually” Hermione rolled her eyes.

They looked at each other before bursting into laughter and giggles for long minutes.

“By the way, mate. Weren’t you going to cut your hair?” Ron asked.

“Oh, yeah. Right. Hermione?” Harry enquired.

Hermione wordlessly got up and went behind Harry on the couch. She started doing things with his hair which made him drowsy in a minute, and he was soon fast asleep.

* * *

 

_“I trust you know now that it does not bode well for yourself if the White Walkers manage to make dinner out of your body parts” it was more a statement than an enquiry, but Harry got the point all the same._

_He was sitting on the ground with his legs crossed, looking much like a monk, especially with his eyes closed in focus to heal the massive gash on his back. For once he thanked the snowstorm for slowing his bleeding._

_“Why do they want me?” he asked._

_“You are currently the only wizard of real power in this world. With your magic, they could finish what they set out to do in mere days. The whole world would be lost to everlasting winter”_

_“At the rate I’m going... I think they’ll succeed before I even open the portal” Harry said bitterly._

_“There’s no use pitying yourself. You will get there, eventually”_

_“Yeah, except I have to do it before they eat me”_

_One of them seriously almost got him. Part of him was frantic about the bite they got on his calf. Did they manage to get some of his magic?_

_“Harry” the crow said._

_“Yeah, I know. I just need to relax and be one with the world” Harry said._

_“They’re here” he whispered urgently._

_Harry opened his eyes and looked at the Three-Eyed Raven, still trying to register what he heard._

_“Run”_

_He scrambled to his feet._

_“But we lost them! They didn’t follow me, I made sure... I...”_

_“Go, now” the raven said._

_“What about you? I’m not letting them kill you” Harry spoke up. He would never run and leave someone to die in his place. He would fight them with all he had and make sure they were both safe._

_“Run” the old man commanded in a tone that shook Harry’s resolution, and he hesitated._

_“RUN”_

Harry woke with a jolt. He sat upright.

“You alright there, mate?” he heard Ron from his bed.

“Y... yeah” he said.

He laid back in his bed, breathing heavily. He could feel Ron quietly listening next to him, and he was comforted by the concern. Eventually his breathing calmed down and waited until he could feel Ron falling asleep.

His scar began to hurt again. It was going to be a long night.


	7. Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry discovers the truth about his bloodline.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry I'm late. I lost all data on my laptop, including the later chapters of this series. So I had to rewrite everything, and that was hard. And, I'm sorry again if it's getting too much, but I have a big ending I promise.

_" **RUN** " he rasped, voice sore._

  
_"No" Harry said calmly._

  
_"Listen to me. You must go" the old man commanded._

  
_"No! I won't leave you behind to die for me" Harry yelled back defiantly._

  
_"Harry, this is no time for gallantry" the Three Eyed Raven enunciated despite being apparently pressed for time "if the White Walkers get you, they will tear you apart and eat you raw. They wouldn't even leave bits of you to join their army of wights, no, The Night King will personally make your magic his. There is greater risk here than just your life" he finished._

  
_"I know that, old man. If there's anything you taught me the past year, it's how to use my magic properly. And that's what I'm going to do" with that, Harry ran outside the cave._

  
_He very nearly got his head bitten off by a wight the second he reached outside, and he managed to conjure a sword and fought off the surrounding wights. The old man made sure Harry got the basics of combat training a while before, and it proved useful especially when magic was one of the things that could kill the undead, as was the sword he conjured._

  
_When the wights started increasing and he began to be outnumbered, Harry yelled "Incendio!" and great fires erupted from his outstretched hand, going around himself in the form of a barrier, growing twenty feet high and pushing the enemy further out. It burned the wights up to crisp, making them scream and wail incomprehensibly as the ugliest sounds Harry had ever heard in his life. The fires burned red and hot, as terrible as dragonfire that he'd seen in his visions._

  
_He let it burn for days._

  
_"That was careless" the old man had told him._

  
_"But it worked" Harry had replied._

  
_The wights had retreated from his barrier not long after he'd conjured it and they hadn't been seen again since then._

  
_"You can't let it burn for long. Your magic will drain" the crow said._

  
_"As long as I can reach the earth, I can recharge. Courtesy of your teaching" Harry genuinely thanked his mentor._

  
_"Such power. It's almost unnatural" the crow thought to himself._

  
_"What do you mean?"_

  
_"You were never normal, not even from the beginning. Voldemort couldn't kill you when you were nothing but a babe"_

  
_"It was my mother" Harry mumbled._

  
_"You continued to show astounding displays of magic" he ignored him "as further proved by your feat of exiling the Dementors only when you were ten and five years of age"_

  
_"Just say fifteen, man"_

  
_"You managed to escape Voldemort, a full-grown wizard, even at his prime not so long ago, about five times now" the old man said._

  
_"Sheer luck?" Harry supplied._

  
_"Unlikely" was the response. The crow was silent for a minute. "Unless..."_

  
_"What?"_

  
_"It's natural somewhere else" he said._

  
_It had been a year and Harry still couldn't get on board the Three-Eyed Raven's train._

  
_"What?" he said dumbly._

  
_"Look, magic, such as levitating objects and cleaning things are not natural here. But it's normal in your world, is it not? It's mediocre, simple, even" the old man said._

  
_"Yes?" Harry felt stupid._

  
_"But magic as strong as yours had never before been seen in your world either. It could only mean one thing"_

  
_Harry waited._

  
_"Your expansive ability of magic is natural in another world. Your magic came from another world"_

  
_Harry's eyes grew wider with every word._

  
_"You, Harry Potter, are from another world"_

  
_Harry had to blink about five times to get that to settle in his head._

  
_"How?? My parents were always wizards, as I told you before" Harry asked exasperatedly._

  
_"Your father was a pureblood, that much we know. But your mother?"_

  
_"She was Muggleborn" he said._

  
_"Are you sure?" the old man asked._

  
_"What? Of course I'm sure!" Harry took a minute, and sighed "Look, what are you trying to say?"_

  
_"I think it would be better if we try to see, rather than think. Harry, what we will do in a moment is something I have never done before" the crow's tone of voice suddenly became very grave. "We will first delve into the strongest bond you have with your mother. Presumably, it would lead us to that night Lily sacrificed her life for you. It will be painful for you to watch" he spared a moment to give Harry a look of understanding. Harry nodded._

  
_"I will then attempt to reach into Lily. It would, hopefully, show us what we are looking for. It could be anything, a place, a person, an object, but it could be the answer to your great magic. It could lead us to the answer to how you got here" the Three-Eyed Crow finished._

  
_Harry looked down and thought deeply about it. It sounded nonsensical to him. But then he looked at the old man again._

  
_His face was wrinkled with old age, his lids drooped into his eyes, and he looked like he could drop dead in the next minute. Yet his eyes were two deep pools of apparent wisdom and knowledge. He never talked shit like Dumbledore always did, and for that Harry trusted him._

  
_Harry took a deep breath._

  
_"Alright. Let's go" he walked towards a portruding branch and grabbed it before the old man even told him to._

  
_The blinding spark of lightning greeted them both, followed by a rumble of thunder from a distance. Harry realised they were standing in the middle of a street in a typical English village sometime during the night. Nothing happened for a while._

  
_"I can feel... magic" the old man spoke to him in wonder, as if this was his first time despite having visited Harry's world a number of times. "So rich... and powerful"_

  
_Harry only realised the crow was talking about Voldemort when he emerged from the end of the street, clad in dark billowing cloaks. Harry thought his scar hurt but it was likely that he had only imagined it. Voldemort stopped a few feet away from the pair, facing an empty lot in between houses. He whispered something under his breath, and suddenly a house was revealed in place of the empty lot._

  
_Suddenly there were yelling coming from the house, the sound of running footsteps and urgent voices. Harry wanted to be in the house and he willed it to happen. It brought them to the room in which Lily was putting Harry in his crib, whispering soothing words to him._

  
_"Harry... you are so loved. So loved" her voice was soft and loving. Harry watched and listened as his mother continued to calm the baby him. "Harry, mama loves you. Dada loves you. Harry, be safe. Be strong" Harry hadn't realized there were tears on his cheeks. Lily's voice tugged at his heart harder than he saw coming._

  
_"Step aside" Voldemort's voice echoed in the room._

  
_"No, please, not Harry..." Lily pleaded._

  
_"Step aside, woman" the dark lord said again, more impatiently._

  
_"No, please!" she screamed now._

  
_Harry's breathing was heavy. He wanted to scream out and lunge at Voldemort, wanted to wrap his hands around the snake's neck and break it like a popsicle stick. He wanted to save his mother, but then the revelation came to him, the old man's voice playing back in his head "I can't change anything, I can only watch"_

  
_"Avada Kedavra!"_

  
_Lily screamed. There was a burst of green light which turned into blinding white, and before Harry could see what happened to Voldemort, he found himself in another world._ _Harry and the Three-Eyed Crow stood side by side in a vast plains of the greenest grass under the bluest skies they had ever seen. The green stretched for miles and miles, the horizon dividing ground and sky seemingly non-existent._

  
_Harry sniffed. He tried to slowly gather himself from what he'd just witnessed. Lily's screams still echoed in his head, much like it had the first time he saw a Dementor. He then wiped his tears away._

  
_"This place is the strongest connection I could grasp between your mother and my world" the crow told him._

  
_Before Harry could say anything, a figure was seen running towards them from a distance._

  
_A girl with dark red hair drifted past the two of them as if they weren't there, reaching towards a woman who had her arms outstretched to catch the child. She picked up the girl and they twirled in place, all smiles and giggles. Harry walked closer to them._

  
_When he was close enough, the woman stopped and held her child to herself at just the right angle for Harry to see. In their faces were two almond-shaped eyes with emerald green for irises. They both looked like him._

  
_The mother then put her child down, holding one hand. With her other hand, she shaped a circular motion in the air, vocalizing words Harry didn't know. It formed a hole from thin air, and looked as if it was opening a door to another room. The hole grew bigger and bigger until it could fit a person._

  
_The woman bent down and kissed her child on her forehead. She seemed to encourage her child to go into the portal, which the girl obeyed. She stepped into the hole, and turned around. They smiled and bid farewell to each other. Then the girl turned her head just a fraction and looked straight at Harry. She could see him. He looked at the girl and her green eyes, green as his, and soon he was looking into the face of Lily, and the portal burst into a familiar blinding white light. When Harry could see again, they were already back in the cave._

  
_Harry stood frozen, trying to understand what he just saw._

  
_"Lily... was not a Muggleborn. She was always magical, albeit a different kind" the old man said to him._

  
_"This just got more confusing" Harry said back._

 


	8. The Life of Lily

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draco leaves for Christmas break and Harry discovers more about his mother.

Draco stared at his packed up things arranged neatly on the foot of his bed. His cupboard had been cleared out, his bedside table emptied, his bed made. A minute too long and he snapped himself back to reality. 

He’d made his decision, he won’t back out now. 

He shrunk his things, put them in his pocket, and headed for the door. Without a second glance, he closed the door behind him. It was Christmas break and he was among those who were headed home but unlike the rest, he didn’t know if he was coming back. He was at the gate on his way to Hogsmeade when he saw Harry leaning on one of the pillars. 

There was no one else there at that moment, it was perfectly normal for them to notice each other even if the place was crowded, but the look Harry was giving him somehow meant more, as if Harry knew what Draco was planning to do. He didn’t let his steps falter and made to ignore the other boy when Harry spoke up.

“You still have a choice, you know”

Draco just kept walking.

“Draco!” Harry shouted.

He stopped in his tracks but didn’t look back. 

“We can help you” Harry said determinedly.

Draco chuckled humorlessly. He turned around and took a good look at Harry. Clothed in Muggle apparel, which used to hang on him like potato sacks but now only complimented his figure, Harry looked back at him with blazing eyes, his hair still sticking out everywhere attractively. He had no doubt that Harry could help him. But that would simply not do.

“Do me a favor” he said.

Harry looked at him expectantly.

“Try to get out of your head for once. The world isn’t divided between Light and Dark, Potter. There are shades in between” Draco spoke solemnly.

The look Harry gave him was inscrutable but he couldn’t stay any longer. The last thing he wanted was to run into the other bloke’s arms wailing like a damsel in distress which felt like what he might do any second now, with Harry looking like that. So he left for the train as fast as he could.

* * *

Harry was back in the castle, the earlier conversation still on his mind. Draco had said the exact same thing Sirius did, but it sounded different, it meant different. They were just words when Sirius said it to him, but when Draco said them… he finally realized they had a deeper meaning. He’d never thought of it that way.

Standing in front of Dumbledore’s office, Harry tried to recall why he came. He played the dream he had last night in his head to refresh his purpose. The dream with Lily.

_ “This just got even more confusing” Harry repeated loudly. _

_ "Well, your mother definitely wasn't from your world. It has been established that opening a portal is a very difficult kind of magic, one even a powerful wizard like you take years to learn. But your mother, her mother, did it quite easily. That powerful magic flows in your blood" the crow analysed. _

_ "Which explains why I'm able to do a lot of things... the Patronus charm, throwing off Imperius, and everything..." Harry trailed off. _

_ "Combined with your father's pure blood, you are exceptional" the old man paused. "What did that look like to you?" he asked Harry. _

_ "What?" _

_ "The woman and her child. What was that?"  _

_ Harry thought about it. The woman bent down and gave her daughter a kiss on the forehead, something Harry had seen mothers do when saying goodbye to their kids on the train platform.  _

_ "It was like she was saying goodbye. My mother was sent away" he said. _

_ "Correct. And then there's the matter of the portal. Did you notice something about it?" the crow asked again. _

_ "It exploded in a white light. Similar to when my mother was killed by Voldemort, right before we got there. Did Voldemort activate a portal?" Harry wondered. _

_ "Maybe. Or maybe your mother tried to. Maybe she didn't make it in time. It messed with the whole system. It sent you off somewhere completely different from the intended destination, at a completely different time" the crow concluded. _

_ "Awfully convenient, don't you think?" Harry voiced his doubts. _

_ "True, but not entirely dismissible. Most probable, even" the crow replied. _

_ Harry couldn’t think up of an argument against that. The more he thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. Harry had always discovered that the things he did weren’t what kids his age should be able to do, just like that time when he was recruiting for the DA. When they voiced out all the magic that he’d done, he realised it sounded like something one would find in an adventure book.  _

_ “I suppose that was as far as you could go?” Harry asked the old man. _

_ “I’m afraid so. You would be able to go further, I’m sure, but in time, which we do not have. Unless you have a magical tree such as this back home, I fear that was the first and last time for either of us to reach into Lily and her mother” the crow spoke wisely. _

_ “Guess I have to talk to Dumbledore about it if I get back” Harry complained. _

_ “Don’t let him get away with anything” the crow advised unhelpfully. _

Harry slowly gathered his thoughts. After a while, he knocked on the door. When Dumbledore voiced him to come in, Harry did warily.

“Harry, my boy. Sit down” he said kindly.

Harry sat down wordlessly and waited.

“Let’s get straight to it, shall we?” Dumbledore enquired.

Harry nodded.

“What happened on the night that you disappeared?” he asked.

“I was sent to another world in the middle of the night” he answered.

“And then?” the headmaster nudged on.

“I woke up in a world very different from ours. I was stuck there for a whole year, learning how to get back” Harry replied.

“And how did you do that?” Dumbledore asked again curiously.

“I’m sure you know, professor. Let’s cut the bullshit” Harry burst out.

Dumbledore was visibly shocked and leaned back on his chair. Harry in turn put his elbows on the table and stared into the other man’s face. 

“You know perfectly well how I disappeared and how I got back. You know I’m not who everyone thinks I am, I’m not even a real wizard. You know that, you even know that about my mother” he said ruthlessly.

“Harry...”

“When I went to that world I learned all kinds of things, professor. I learned everything there is to learn about that world, and this one. I found out many things about people. About you” he stood and walked around the room as he talked. “I know you have a brother, and had a sister, and that you lived in Godric’s Hollow. I know you were friends with Grindelwald, and you even shared his ideas about the ‘Greater Good’ for magical folk over Muggles. I know you knew Pettigrew was alive and Sirius was innocent yet you left him to rot in Azkaban. I know Voldemort managed to make six horcruxes before he died, and somehow I’m connected to all of it. I know you know there are other worlds than this, and that my mother came from one of them. Yet you never told me or anyone any of this” he then stopped in front of Dumbledore’s desk again, putting his palms on it and leaning into his headmaster. “I’m not going to listen to any shit you make up to justify why you did what you did, no. Just tell me” he continued “who my mother really was” he finished menacingly. 

Dumbledore was silent for a long time, looking at Harry as if he was the Dark Lord. Harry sat back down and waited.

Finally, Dumbledore cleared his throat and began.

“Lily was… an exceptional student. She was different than the regular witch. She was, contrary to what everyone was led to believe-”

“By you” Harry interrupted.

“No, Harry… everyone including me was led to believe that she was Muggleborn. The only reason I knew otherwise was because she told me at the end of her education here at Hogwarts. You see, I’ve always had my speculations and confronted her about it, and she inclined” Dumbledore spoke almost pleadingly.

“I want to see this conversation” Harry demanded.

Dumbledore was at a loss.

“Show it to me in the Pensieve, professor” Harry said.

The old man stared at him and his downright rude commands. Harry could feel mild anger in him, yet the aura Harry was giving off was intentionally made to intimidate him. Indeed, Dumbledore was stiff as a board. As he summoned the Pensieve and pulled out a silver strand from his temple, Harry kept his gaze levelly on the old man, holding him captive. When he was done, Harry asked for them both to see it. Dumbledore obliged if a little reluctantly.

* * *

The world shifted and they were both standing in headmaster’s office, except now there was another Dumbledore in the headmaster’s chair, and Lily was in Harry’s. She was young and beautiful as Harry had always thought her to be.

“Ms Evans. Forgive me, but, now that we’re talking about it…” the younger Dumbledore began “I’ve always thought there was something different about your magical signature”

“Really, professor? Why do you say so?” Lily asked with a smile.

“I can’t help but notice slight… differences in your magic. Something about its very nature seems foreign to the rest of us” the old man said.

By now they were sharing the same look and it seemed understanding passed between two of them. Lily’s smile slowly faded.

“You’ve always had a passion for old magic, all your friends and the professors seem to know this. But I realized that that’s not entirely the case. It’s old magic, yes, but it’s almost, how do I say this… otherworldly” Dumbledore finished.

“Should I be worried, professor?” Lily feared.

“No, my child. I only wish to know if there is any truth in my speculations, forgive me for being curious” Dumbledore assured her.

Harry snorted.

“Well, professor. I don’t see any harm in telling you about it, after all there’s no more damage that can be done now” Lily said the last part more to herself, staring out the window past Dumbledore.

“What do you mean?”

“I was born at the end of time, the last child of my race. My mother sent me here because there was no future for me back home. She sent me as a child so I could integrate with the world I was sent to, get used to it, grow up in it. I feel sad every time I think about her. Our kind was indeed magical, but simply different from yours. Our magic is stronger and unlimited. So vast that we can reach out to worlds outside our own. It was such a powerful thing to have, it caused tragedies and many sufferings that we had rules against using it. But by the time I was born, there was no one left to rule, and nothing left to save. So I was sent away” Lily smiled sadly.

Lily paused for several minutes while Dumbledore simply waited. 

“I made myself part of the family I was sent to. They were Muggles but I knew there was magic in this world, so I didn’t hide my own entirely” she said.

“I’m sure this must all be very sad for you” Dumbledore said.

“Yes, but I’m happy that I was sent here. Despite the war and all that’s going on… I’m happy” Lily smiled. 

“Just know, Ms Evans, that if you ever need my help with anything, anything at all, I would do everything I can” the headmaster promised.

Lily smiled gratefully. Harry watched as her face contorted and vanished into air. Now he was back in the present with the headmaster in the office.

* * *

“Harry… despite what you may think, I care very much about you and your mother” Dumbledore addressed him.

Harry was lost in his thoughts. He was glad to know that even with the war that was happening, with Voldemort raising terror and all the battles she had to fight as a child, she was happy. She was happy with his father, and the life she was given. She had no regrets.

Resigned that Harry would never find anything more than that, he stood up and headed for the door. He would never know exactly what race he belonged to, but listening to Lily’s story answered most of the questions that bothered him since the accident. He was just opening the door to leave the room when the headmaster spoke up

“Harry… you’re not alone. We are all with you”

“Half true, professor. But if you need me, I’ll be around” he said. 

Then he left the room.


	9. Darkening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The war hits full-force. Deathly Hallows compliant, in a way.

They were all caught unawares the night Voldemort came.

The night grew dark when black fog clouded over the full moon, swallowing the world with shadows. The air hardened to ice, taking breaths turned to sharp gasps, and all the happiness in the world was gone.

Hogwarts lit up like a beacon in a sea of darkness with dementors gathered around it like moths to a flame. The dark lord’s followers had crashed down the great hall, giants, spiders, and werewolves all charged at once toward the students and the few professors trying to defend them all.

Draco watched as his peers were murdered, too cowardly to raise his wand against them, too scared to fight with them.

When Voldemort had his enemies bent down before him on their knees and hands, Harry Potter and Dumbledore finally came back. With a wave of his hand, the Chosen One sent all the dark lord’s followers flying. But before he could do anything else, Voldemort sent a killing curse towards the headmaster. Time seemed to stop as the old man fell to the floor with a loud thud, the people of Hogwarts watching in despair, and Voldemort started laughing in his high, cold voice. All eyes were drawn to their only Light now, to Harry who screamed in anger, his hand raising against Voldemort.

“Where’s your wand, boy?” he laughed.

But Harry was too angry, filled with fury and despair, and he attacked the dark lord with spells without anyone hearing him utter any word or holding his wand. With his mouth tight shut he sent spells on the other man continuously and endlessly, advancing towards him, and his spells grew bigger and more terrible that Voldemort started growing difficult to counter.

Draco could see Harry slipping. He was not the Harry he knew. Harry was falling. His face was wild, his eyes blazing but empty. Harry was going to snap.

In the next moment things went too fast. A light started to grow in Harry, coming from his chest, a white blinding light that made others turn away, but not Draco. He ran towards the other boy who now had both his arms outstretched, one to attack and one to hold his enemy in place, how Draco knew this he did not understand, but nothing mattered now except getting to Harry. The light brightened and it felt like looking straight at the sun and Harry was screaming now. Draco pulled Harry into a tight embrace, closing his eyes because it was getting too bright, yelling his name over and over.

Harry stopped moving and Draco heard an apparition crack. Voldemort had taken the chance to escape but Harry hadn’t seem to realize. Draco kept calling his name in urgent whispers, telling him to come back. The light was still blinding. He took Harry’s face in his hands and looked into his eyes.

“Harry”

“Harry”

Harry found his eyes. The green focused on him, and life slowly came back into them. The light subsided as he kept whispering his name. Harry’s breath started to slow down and he seemed to be coming back to the present now.

Draco knew it was time to go so he released his hold. Before Harry could realise what happened, he Disapparated.

* * *

 

 

A few days later, Snape came to inform them that Harry Potter had disappeared.

When Draco found out that Weasley and Granger hadn’t come to Hogwarts the next year though, he knew Harry was safe.

After the Battle of Hogwarts, apparently the castle had been fixed to its previous glory. Snape had said that Harry did it by himself without the use of a wand or help from others. The castle was restored and now that war was declared, used as headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix. They had expanded their order by recruiting more witches and wizards to fight with them. Now that the Ministry was under Voldemort, the order had become the resistance.

The Dark Lord, on the other hand, was furious. He was angry to know that Harry was capable of wandless magic, and to that extent. From then on, Draco didn’t see much of him. He was always away from the country, searching for something.

Draco stayed home with his family, and whatever his father needed him to do, he did. Torturing Muggles, interrogating half-bloods, but never killing. He would never kill.

Harry was damned good at hiding. Although his father said he was running away, Draco knew that wasn’t it. Whatever Harry was doing, he wasn’t running away. Some news would come up at times, Harry breaking into the Ministry, Harry at Godric’s Hollow, breaking into Gringotts… no one knew what he was up to. The whole year passed by in horror and terror, and Draco almost fooled himself into a sense of normalcy with the current lifestyle when one day Aunt Bella called for him to the drawing room and he was jolted awake with the reality of things.

Walking in to find Weasley and Granger restrained, his deepest fear came true. Harry had been caught.

“Come here, Draco… come here” Aunt Bella implored him. “Tell us… is it him?”

Harry’s face was swollen and disfigured, but the green eyes blazed in defiance and something else, something he couldn’t place.

“What’s wrong with his face?” he asked pointlessly.

“Don’t know, he was like that when we got him. Something he picked up in the forest, I reckon” one of the snatchers answered.

“Or ran into a stinging jinx… was it you, dearie?” Bella pointed towards Granger.

Of course it was Granger, the smart arse.

“I’m not sure” he said.

He stood aside.

* * *

 

That night, Draco went to the dungeon where they had placed the golden trio. If they were still here, something was obviously wrong with Harry. The Death Eaters obviously still didn’t know it was him because they knew Harry could do wandless magic to escape. But he wasn’t doing it, so something was wrong. He found himself a mess of relief and fear altogether at the thought.

He spelled Wormtail asleep and snuck down to the cells. When they saw him, they immediately wore faces of hostility. It was dark but he could make out that Harry was sitting on the floor with his back leaning on the opposite wall of the cell. Granger looked pale and shaken, hugging herself. Next to her, Weasley leaned close as if shielding her from any further harm that he might have come to inflict.

“Malfoy” Weasley spat.

He didn’t oblige with a retort. Instead he asked “What do you need?”

The trio were silent for a couple of seconds. He kept his gaze on Harry, just waiting. Then Harry stood up and walked toward the bars. His face had returned to normal, his scar clear as day. He looked almost like the night he came back from the disappearance, all rough and war-torn.

“We need the snake, Nagini” Harry said, his voice music to Draco’s ears. “We know he’s locked in one of the rooms upstairs. We just need the door open so I can call it here”

He held his gaze on Harry for a moment before nodding. If Harry could fix a whole ancient castle, surely he could unlock a door a few floors upstairs? What was wrong?

“There’s a hidden passage at the top of these stairs. It leads to an exit just outside the manor’s grounds, you’ll be safe once you’re out. It will be open and the way cleared for you to leave, afterwards” he instructed.

Weasley gaped at him noticeably while Granger turned to him in shock. Harry didn’t shift. Draco turned and left the dungeon.

Upstairs he doubled the spell on Wormtail and proceeded to the upper floors. He unlocked the room Nagini was kept in and went the other way. He could hear the snake slithering out of the room before he entered his own.

* * *

 

Draco couldn’t go to sleep, instead he stood next to his window in his pajamas, looking out where the exit to the secret passage was. It was impossible to see it at night even if it was any closer. Still, he kept his gaze there, hoping Harry made it out.

He must have stood there for hours that he started hearing things like the rustle of fabric somewhere behind him but it seemed almost surreal. He turned his head to look but there was nothing. He scanned his room briefly. Nothing seemed out of place. Deciding to call it a night, he gave the grounds one last look before heading to his bed.

As he was falling asleep, he heard a voice. Someone was talking to him but he was too sleepy to care now.

“Why did you help us?”

_Who’s there?_

“It’s me”

_Go away, Potty._

“Why?”

_Because you’re my Light too._

The voice disappeared and Draco thought he could finally fall asleep.

"I'm going to take two things from you tonight"

But he didn't hear it. He slipped away into his dreams.

* * *

 

The next day, Draco could not find his wand.

The Chosen One finally returned to Hogwarts to join the Order in the war. From then on, things were hell. Every Death Eater raid was ambushed by the opposing side. There was meeting after meeting of war strategies, analyzing which safe house to attack and fighting battles with people of the order every other day. Draco had yet to face Harry in any of these battles and he was thankful. Every battle that had Harry in it didn’t end well for their side.

At this point, Draco had to get his hands dirty. The first time he committed murder, it was on a Muggle who was caught in crossfire during one of the Death Eater raids. She was only a few years younger than him, her face fair and pure, her eyes bright blue and her hair the sweetest brown. He could never forget how she screamed her lungs out, coughing blood out of her mouth, her chest sliced to ribbons and her eyes wide and bulging. He knew the pain. He understood it better than anyone. He caused it.

She would haunt his dreams every night from then. Even after the many deaths he caused in the following battles, she would always be the center of it all. She would scream and scream until his head was ringing with the voices of the people he killed until morning. She would not let him sleep.

“Potter will be at the site alone tomorrow” Snape enunciated.

“Will he now?” Voldemort’s cold voice echoed in the drawing room.

“Yes. He will be collecting materials for the Order, the last of them appointed to the task now unable to perform, courtesy of Bellatrix” Snape explained.

“Why would he be alone? And why is their star member appointed to a useless task such as collecting materials from a shop?” questioned Yaxley.

“He is still suffering from injuries he obtained on his last mission. They are in desperate need of the materials and the task was deemed least dangerous for him at the moment”

“Let’s have some fun, shall we? Send Bellatrix to visit him after he leaves the shop… she can do whatever she wants with him. Destroy their supplies, cut off a limb or two… just don’t kill him yet, he’s mine…” the Dark Lord said to his subjects.

Draco was livid. He had to warn Harry somehow.


	10. The New King

The hooded figure walked with little doubt as to being watched, for it strode determinedly along the isolated alley without hesitation. Draco arrived at a Muggle bar at the end of the alley and went inside.

The bar was crowded and lively. Muggles were chattering and laughing, music was a steady melody, and no one spared him a second glance. He knew Harry was in here somewhere. He could feel it with the bonding charm he had placed on his wand the first time he held it as a boy. He went to a table in the corner and sat down, surprised it was empty. He could see the entire room from his view.

Draco scanned the room for Harry. He finally located him at the bar, sitting on a stool with his head bent down. A woman was trying to chat him up on his right. She stood so close to him with her chest straightened out in effort. He seemed to pay her no mind. She wouldn’t give up, and after a while he downed his glass and got off the bar. Harry headed for the restroom, leaving the woman alone and angry.

Draco decided to follow him. Just as he reached the men’s restroom, he noticed the door at the end of the corridor closing. It was the back entrance and he was pretty sure he saw Harry leaving. He chased after him. As soon as he went out the door into the back alley, he felt a wand pointed at his back and froze.

“What do you want, Malfoy?” came Harry’s voice, cold and accusing.

“Just wanted to talk” Draco answered steadily.

Harry let down his wand.

“Just like that? One would think you trust me” Draco said as he turned around slowly to face him.

“Don’t push it” Harry warned.

They looked at each other for a few moments. It had been three years since Hogwarts and Harry had filled out quite nicely, better than after his disappearance. Because of the war, he was all muscles and strength. He sported a rough stubble which Draco once again approved. Despite all this, he didn’t look good. He had dark circles around his eyes as if he’d never slept and his eyes lacked the fire Draco knew.

“Well? You said you wanted to talk. Then talk” Harry commanded.

Draco glanced around.

“We’re alone” Harry said.

How Harry knew this, he didn’t know. But he’ll be damned if he didn’t believe what the Chosen One himself said.

“You are assigned to collect supplies for the Order tomorrow, are you not?” Draco enquired.

Harry nodded. Draco stepped closer and spoke in a low voice.

“You will be getting a surprise visit by Bellatrix. She’s got mind to destroy the supplies and never letting you go back to the Order. The Dark Lord himself might come after she’s done”

“She’s nothing I can’t handle” Harry said with conviction.

There was a nagging feeling in his guts. Draco didn’t know how to explain, but he felt really bad about this ambush.

“Don’t go alone. You need to have back-up” Draco said.

“I said I can handle her” Harry said stubbornly.

“Just listen to me, you great git! No offense, but you look like shit” at this, Harry drew back clearly insulted. “You should have seen me earlier today at Muggle London but you didn’t, not until I entered the bar, and seeing as they’re sending their star player to be delivery boy in the middle of the war, that’s saying something. You’re off your game, Potter. Don’t go alone” Draco said impatiently.

Harry said nothing for a few moments. Instead of giving a retort to Draco’s outburst, he asked

“Aren’t you going to ask for your wand back?”

Draco glanced at the wand in Harry’s hand. He deduced that Harry must have lost his wand somehow, that’s why he took his even if it made no sense at all.

“No. You seem to need it more than I do” Draco answered. He then straightened his back and lifted his chin. “Well then, Potter” he bid his farewell and turned to leave.

“Draco” Harry said to his back.

He stopped and looked over his shoulder. Harry looked down and rubbed the back of his neck attractively.

“Thank you for helping us that night” Harry confessed.

Draco didn’t say anything. He walked away and Disapparated.

* * *

 

The next day, Draco woke with a start. Someone rapped at his door and he quickly got dressed. He opened the door to find his father.

“Get ready. You’re coming with us” he said and left.

Draco closed his door and leaned on it. He was going with them? Who’s ‘them’? Wasn’t it just Aunt Bella? What was happening?

* * *

 

Their arrival was anticipated.

The Dark Lord, his closest followers, and Draco arrived at the scene expecting to see Harry innocent and oblivious in his task of collecting supplies. But all Harry had in his hand was a wand and he simply stood there in the empty alley, looking at them with a bored expression.

“Harry Potter… expecting us, were you?” Bellatrix asked, not bothering to hide her surprise.

Harry was uncharacteristically quiet. He just stood there. But Draco was starting to get anxious. Something was clearly wrong. For The Dark Lord himself and his most loyal followers to come along altogether for this was a power move. It could be the endgame. And Harry, the stubborn git, was alone despite his warning yesterday.

“I see you’re using a wand again… what’s wrong? Still unable to do wandless magic, after that last curse I sent your way?” Lucius mocked concern.

“Yeah, well. That was a nasty curse, just like you Malfoy” Harry brought his left hand up and pretended to examine it. “No one else has to die today, Tom” he addressed the Dark Lord. “How about a duel?”

The Dark Lord laughed slowly.

“My fellow servants…” he rasped “kill him”

And suddenly everyone was sending curses toward Harry. He fought them back skillfully, one after another. Some died at the end of their own curse, some were knocked out with his counter-curse. He stood his ground even as they gained on him, never blinking and unflinching. He was fearless in the battle. It went on until there was only Bellatrix and Lucius on their side, both panting for air. Harry was similarly breathless on the other end.

“Tsk… useless” the Dark Lord exclaimed. He held out his hand to tell his servants to back away and he stepped into the battle. Harry assumed a stance, ready to fight.

“I told you no one else needed to die, Tom. Look at you now” Harry taunted.

“What is that, oh Chosen One?” the Dark Lord obliged.

“Dead” Harry said and launched into battle determinedly.

They dueled viciously against each other. Harry was merciless in casting curses this time, and the Dark Lord kept up with him competitively. Curses were deflected and sent off bombing into buildings around them, the street was torn apart when their curses connected, and it started raining shards of glass when bricks and stones exploded from the waves of their spells. Bellatrix was laughing maniacally as she watched the duel. Draco was rooted to the spot, fearing for Harry’s life.

Suddenly Harry got hit with a curse and was sent flying. He landed on the ground with a loud thud and grunted in pain. Draco was starting to panic. The Dark Lord walked slowly towards him, effortlessly deflecting the curses Harry threw. He sent a curse Draco didn’t know, and it threw off the wand from Harry’s hand. Just as he was about to cast a last curse at the beaten savior, Draco yelled

“Wait!”

The Dark Lord stopped but didn’t look at him.

“He must be planning something! That’s why he was waiting for us. Maybe he wants this to happen” he babbled, certain he was going to get executed for this.

“Draco! What are you saying? Let the Dark Lord finish him!” Lucius said angrily.

“But what if…-“

“Silence, boy!” the Dark Lord commanded.

Draco swallowed.

The Dark Lord then lifted Harry in the air. Harry struggled to get off. He was bound by some invisible force, looking back at his enemy defiantly. The Dark Lord laughed.

“Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived…” he proclaimed. “Come to die”

Harry closed his eyes.

“Avada Kedavra!” he yelled.

“Protego!” Draco exclaimed.

The angry burst of green light would have hit Harry square in the chest if it wasn’t for Draco’s shield charm, but still he was sent backwards. The curse hit the Dark Lord and he fell back on the pavement as well. The two figures lay unmoving on the ground, and Draco and the others were rendered speechless and clueless about what just happened. Bellatrix wailed incoherently and scrambled for their master.

Draco ran towards Harry. He crouched next to him and put his face in his hands. He said Harry’s name frantically.

“Harry… no, Harry…” he repeated desperately. _Please don’t be dead… don’t go. Don’t leave me. Not again._ “Harry…” he sobbed.

When it settled into him that the shield charm didn’t work, he let his tears fall. He sobbed childishly.

“I’m sorry… I should have tried harder. I thought I could protect you… I’m sorry” He buried his face in Harry’s chest. He gripped on Harry’s clothes painfully, willing him to listen. “I’m so sorry, Harry”

* * *

 

Everything around him was white and serene. He thought he’d traveled to another world yet again, but this seemed different. Somehow, he decided this was not it. This was something else.

“You’re here too” a voice said.

Harry turned to see the owner. There was a man staring back at him. He looked familiar, with dark hair and bright eyes. They stood eye to eye. He made Harry think of himself a little.

“Tom” Harry realized.

When he said his name, Tom smiled ruefully. It was Tom Riddle, much older from the memories of him that Harry had seen. He didn’t have the red eyes and slits for nose, no, he was the handsome man he used to be. But his smile said something else.

“I am Lord Voldemort” he said.

Tom’s hands grabbed Harry, his fingers closing in around his neck savagely. Harry tried to grasp those hands off of him, the sharp nails digging into his neck painfully, but they were too strong for him and Riddle’s eyes flashed dangerously into his. Harry started gasping for air. He punched and smacked at Riddle, trying to get away. He tried to reach to everything, anything that could help him get away.

“You’re mine now” Tom said.

Before long he couldn’t do any more. Choking and gagging, Harry started to fade away. His struggles weakened and gradually moved to a stop. With a last look at his murderer, at Tom Riddle with his eyes flashing and his teeth bared, Harry slowly closed his eyes.

And finally he remembered.

The last day in Westeros. His last day in the world of Ice and Fire.

Hands were all over him. Clawing and slashing into his skins. Ripping him apart and cutting him open in millions of directions. He could feel his limbs being torn away from his body. Teeth gnawing on his neck and his sides. His eyes were ripped out from their sockets, his screams drowned in gushes of warm blood. And his heart.

His heart was taken from him. The Night King was looking down at him, raising his heart to his mouth, and devoured it.

* * *

 

They found Harry with Draco lying his head on his chest. Lucius tried to pry him away when the Order showed up, Bellatrix screamed mournfully into the night, but Draco wouldn’t budge. The Order captured them before they could escape. Weasel was in a rage and fury when he saw Harry lying cold on the pavement with Draco on top of him. He pulled Draco away and beat him into a bloody mess. It took a while before others had to pull him away.

It was small but Draco heard it. A sigh.

Coming from Harry.

He snapped out of his stupor and scrambled to Harry’s side. He scanned the other man’s face, searching for any sign of movement.

“Harry?” he asked.

His eyelids twitched, he was looking around under closed eyes. Draco’s heart soared. He called his name again hopefully.

“Harry”

But the eyes that opened weren’t green.

Draco watched as Harry slowly rose to stand. His eyes never left Harry’s, although they weren’t looking back into his, they were looking straight and unfocused. He was vaguely aware of other’s gasps around him, the questioning murmurs. Draco was looking up at Harry, wondering who it was standing before him now.

In his eyes were no longer the familiar blaze of emerald. In his eyes were two ethereal orbs glowing brighter than any fire, of piercing cold, ice blue.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope whoever read this, likes it.


End file.
